Picture of the day

Uncovering the Nanosphere

From NanoArt 2006. © Copyright A. John Valois (click to see larger version)

NANOART is a new art discipline related to micro/nanosculptures created by artists/scientists through chemical/physical processes and/or natural micro/nanostructures that are visualized with powerful research tools like Scanning Electron Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope.

NanoArt could be for the 21st Century what Photography was for the 20th Century. We live in a technological society, in a new Renaissance period, and there is no reason for Arts to stay away from Technology. NanoArt is the expression of the New Technological Revolution and reflects the transition from Science to Art using Technology.

See all of A. John Valois's NanoArt 2006 entries here, or visit his website.

Please contact me if you would like to submit an image. (rocky at bir-consulting.com)

Quote of the day

"In the next 30 years, we may experience more technological advances -- from nanoscale manufacturing, medicine, education and leisure -- than the amazing progress realized during all of the 20th century. Research at the nano level will teach us how to build new materials and tiny structures by assembling atoms or molecules with high precision instead of the more conventional approach of sculpting parts from pre-existing materials."

~Mihail C. Roco, Senior Advisor, NSF and Chair, U.S. National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology.

FutureCar, Pt IV

Another series of made for TV programs from the Discovery Channel, FutureCar examines today’s technologies and designs and how they might lead to tomorrow’s vehicles.

The 4th of 4 programs is titled "The Brian." This program speculated that in the year 2030 we will see:

• A worldwide network (a vehicle web, or "automatrix")
  
• Highways without speed limits
  
• No drivers
  
• No accidents
  
• No traffic jams
  

All the above based on the fact that as digital power increases, so does safety. Their speculation is based on an interconnection of computers, roadways, people and cars, as well as on advances in computing power and ubiquitous sensing.

And featured these future vehicles:

• Rinspeed Senso (http://www.rinspeed.com/pages/cars/senso/pre-senso.htm)
  
• GM Intern Design Program: Cocoon and Nanny Car
  
• MIT Media Lab "stackable" cars
  

As was the case with the previous three programs, car enthusiasts will love this show, as will those that study the future.

Nanotechnology is explicitly mentioned this time in regards to sensors; they use Moore’s Law to illustrate that by 2030 computers will have more than 3,000 times the processing power as today’s computers. I found a quote by Michio Kaku interesting "the application of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and micro-sensor technology will shake everything up concerning our car." As with the previous programs, nanotechnologies are implicitly a factor in such things as self-healing paint and color-changing body colors.

Bottom line: the whole series is worth the watch.

To learn more, visit discovery.com/futurecar